“On Behalf of a Shared World”: Arendtian Politics in a Culture of Youth Media Participation

Abstract

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes This, like the names of the mentors referred to later, is a pseudonym. So, for instance, it appears that mentors develop emotional self-awareness, assertiveness, and self-reliance as well as new technical skills (Miller 2002). They also tend to develop “empathy for the feelings of others, [an] ability to establish mutually beneficial personal relationship(s)…[and an] abilit[y] to maintain hope in adverse situations” (Miller 2002, 38–39). They typically discover latent abilities, gain self-confidence, and also a sense of self-actualization (Roberts 2000 Roberts , Andy . ( 2000 ). Mentoring Revisited: A Phenomenological Reading of the Literature . Mentoring and Training , 8 ( 2 ), 145 – 170 .[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). By this I mean I invited study participants to act as codesigners of semistructured interviews. I also took an active part in the Summer Stories program, helping youth to produce their videos, while also offering feedback (when asked) on story ideas, and so forth. I have chosen these youth because they offer instructive examples of how mentoring impacted the larger group of young people involved in the project.